And It's Like the Sky is New
by chalantness
Summary: Only Wally West could find tying a tie more complicated than fashioning an EMP. (Plotless, prom fluff.)


**Title: **_And It's Like the Sky is New  
_**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** ~4,500  
**Characters:** Dick/Zatanna, Wally/Artemis, Kaldur/Raquel, Conner/M'gann, a little bit of Mal/Karen, Barbara, Bette, and Wendy  
**Summary:** Only Wally West could find tying a tie more complicated than fashioning an EMP.

**Note:** So much plotless fluff that it will consume you. …Enjoy? And you can find a link to my "headcanons" of their prom dresses on my profile.

**And It's Like the Sky is New**

She already knows by looking at the girl's face that _this_ is her dress. It looked pretty when they picked it off of the rack, but it looks gorgeous now that it's actually on her and she got this bright, ear-to-ear smile as soon as she stepped onto the platform, turned around and saw her reflection in the mirror.

"Megan," Raquel breathes. "It's perfect!"

"Are you sure?" the girl asks, biting her lower lip a little. "You don't think it's too much?"

"Not at all," Artemis reassures.

And it really _is_ the perfect dress for Megan—pink and floor-length, with a tulle skirt and an empire waist and a jeweled bodice. She looks like a princess, honestly, straight out of a fairytale book or Disney movie, but in the classiest way ever. It doesn't look tacky or too much like a full ball gown that it's too much for a high school prom, and like, she's probably one of the only people in the world that can pull off that much pink on one dress and get away with looking like a model in rather than a little schoolgirl that never quite grew up.

Megan tilts her head a little, fingering the tulle skirt with an uncertain expression. "I don't know," she admits.

"What is there not to know?" Artemis steps onto the platform, stands behind Megan and sets her hands over the girl's shoulders. "It makes you feel amazing, right? Don't bother trying to lie, too, because I can tell by your face that you're in love with it this dress."

"But what if there's another one?" Megan asks.

"It's not like this is your wedding dress," Raquel reminds with a laugh. "It doesn't have to make you cry for you to buy it. Do you absolutely love it?"

"Yes, but—"

"Then that's all that matters."

"I don't know…"

"Meg," Artemis says slowly, smiling at Megan through their reflections, "Get the dress."

Megan tilts her head again, grasps the skirt between her fingers and lets it fall again, letting the tulle swish around. Then she smiles. "Okay," she says. Zatanna squeals a little as Raquel claps. "Okay, I'll get it, but only if Artemis gets the one she's wearing."

"What?"

"Oh, come on," Raquel laughs. "You're _killing_ it in that dress."

Artemis shakes her head, stepping off of the platform. The dress she has on is silver with a sparkly sweetheart neckline and a bit of an A-line figure, falling just an inch above the floor. There's a bow at her hip and sparkly halter straps to match the neckline, and it makes her look like a celebrity that turned heads as soon as she stepped onto the red carpet.

"I can already imagine Wally's reaction now," Zatanna says. She's sitting on the couch with Raquel because she already got her dress (and hasn't shown _anyone_ else, much to everyone's chagrin) and Raquel isn't going to her prom. Apparently she never planned on it since she claims that it's not really her thing, and Kaldur doesn't have a prom to go to, either, because he doesn't attend a school on land, so they're going to stay in the Cave for the night. She knows Megan tried convincing the two of them to crash the Happy Harbor High prom since they'd know her and Conner, and Karen and Mal and Wendy, too. But obviously there'd been no such luck with that idea.

Artemis gets this little smirk, looks over her shoulder at her reflection as she says, "He'd be drooling."

"Which is exactly why you should get it," Raquel points out.

"Well, I'm only getting this if Raquel gets a dress," Artemis says, and before the girl can protest, she adds, "I don't care if you're not going to a prom. The League has black-tie publicity functions all the time, and so does Dick's family, so it's not like you're _not_ going to have a reason to get one."

"What about Zatanna?"

"Don't get me involved," Zatanna says at the same time Megan says, "She'll get one, too! That way we can all get something today!"

"You guys are ridiculous, you know?" Raquel asks, and Artemis just laughs, links their arms together and tugs her out of the dressing room.

... ...

"So, you're really not going to let me see your dress until the day of?"

Zatanna laughs, flips to the next page of her textbook as she says, "You already asked me that."

"Can't blame a guy for trying," he chuckles and she looks up at him and flashes a smile. They're sitting on his enormous bed, her lying on her stomach with a pillow tucked underneath and him sitting with his legs stretched out and his back against the headboard. "Well, I know it's going to look amazing because you're the one wearing it."

"You've already said that, too."

"And I still mean it." He tucks her hair behind her ear, leans over and kisses her cheek. She blushes and bites her lower lip. "So, not even a little hint?"

"Geez," she laughs, sitting herself up on her knees. "You're such a pest."

He grins, though, so he knows that she's just teasing, sets his paperback copy of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ down and pulls her across his lap so that she's straddling his waist. It's probably inappropriate of them considering that they're on his bed and the door isn't locked, or even closed. Bruce and Alfred have this strange thing where they'll only come in to check on them if the door is closed, so they've gotten into the habit of leaving it open just a few inches so that they can see it from down the hallway and not have to knock, unless Alfred's just stopping by to drop off food or drinks. And it's not like they ever do anything more than make out, especially when they know someone else is home, but still.

She'd rather not be interrupted, thank you very much.

"But I'm _your_ pest."

Dick's grinning cheekily up at her and she pushes her fingers into his hair. But when he moves to kiss her, she places a finger against his lips, giggles at the confusion on his face and pulls her hand back. She twirls the stem of the peacock feather between her fingers, tracing the tip of it against his cheek, and he gives her this _smile_.

"You always have the best surprises," he breathes, his voice filled with the same amazement he always has whenever she does something magical like this.

She kisses him instead of saying thank you, but she thinks he doesn't mind.

... ...

The night of their prom, Artemis stands in front of the tall mirror in her silver dress and smiles at her reflection because, okay, she kind of feels amazing right now.

She's not the kind of person that's anti-prom (obviously), but she's not the kind of girl that _dreams_ of it, either. To her, it's a great party and an excuse to dress up—which, contrary to popular belief, she actually finds kind of fun, because there's something satisfying about being able to take down at least four guys at once in four-inch stilettos and a mermaid silhouette. There won't be any of that tonight she's okay with that. Tonight is about being young and not having to worry about anything else other than possibly getting her dress stained, but even that's nothing because Zatanna can fix her up in seconds if something were to happen.

And she looks amazing.

Maybe it's conceited of her to think it, but whatever. She kind of really loves this dress, more so now that she gets to wear it out than when she first bought it. Plus, Megan did her hair and Raquel did her makeup, and there's nothing wrong with admiring how she looks when she can see what an amazing job her friends did in putting her together.

Except, it's kind of overwhelming right now, too, because there's kind of a lot going on in this room right now (they wanted to get ready at the Cave together, since their proms are on the same night, anyway) and she's a little dehydrated and just needs to step outside.

"I'm going to get some water," she says to no one in particular, leaving before anyone can respond. Whatever, someone probably heard her.

She hears arguing from the kitchen at the end of hallway, and she laughs a little because she recognizes Wally and Dick's voices. And by arguing, she means that Wally sounds like he's getting frustrated and Dick sounds thoroughly amused, which could only mean that he's laughing at his best friend's expense. Honestly, those two are worse than brothers.

"I told you that wasn't how you do it."

"Shut up."

"What's going on in here?"

The boys look at her, and Dick pulls his hand away so Artemis can see that…

Wally's got his fingers caught in his tie.

"Oh, gosh," Artemis laughs. Seriously, only Wally West could find tying a tie more complicated than fashioning an EMP.

Dick smirks and she only laughs harder when Wally scowls at the both of them. She crosses the short distance to stand in front of him, starting to loosen the incredible knot her boyfriend somehow made himself, and Dick says something about checking on Conner and his "monkey suit" before disappearing from the room.

"You never fail to amaze me."

"Stop," he says, and she presses her lips together to keep from laughing again because he's _pouting_ and probably won't appreciate it if she starts cracking up.

"How did—"

"_Stop_," he groans.

"My poor baby," she teases, and then she kisses his lips and his pout flashes into a smile so quickly in response that she kind of has to laugh again. Then she tugs at the tie a few more times until he's finally able to untangle his fingers, and he puts his hands at her waist and kisses her more properly.

"Thanks, babe," he says against her lips.

"No problem. But if you keep kissing me like this, I'll have to redo my lip gloss."

He grins and pulls his head away, holds her at arm's length so he can get a better look at the whole dress. He's got this incredibly stupid smile on his face and he's staring at her like he just can't bring himself to _stop_ and, okay, maybe she's blushing, but he kind of does that to her. Sometimes they'll just be studying at her house or his and it's quiet and comfortable, and she'll feel him sort of watching her and when she turns to look at him, he'll have that same smile on his face, like he's trying to find out how he got so lucky to be with her when, honestly, it's probably the other way around. As much as she loves to mess with Wally, he really is a totally gentleman when it counts.

"Come here," she says, even though she's standing right in front of him, and she un-tucks his collar and slides his tie around his neck.

"You look beautiful," he tells her.

She laughs, pulls his tie through the last loop and adjusts it until it's perfect. "You're not so bad yourself, Bay Watch."

He chuckles and brings her closer, wraps an arm around her waist so that she's pressed against his chest. "You're always beautiful," he says lowly, his breath warm against her ear, and she tips her head back, presses their lips together and figures that she can just apply a fresh coat of lip gloss again before they leave.

... ...

"Conner," Megan laughs, pulling his hand away so he'll stop messing with his bowtie, "You're going to rip it or something if you keep messing with it."

He rolls his eyes, mumbles under his breath. She giggles.

"Oh, quit being such a grump," Wendy says. She looks like a faerie in her baby blue prom dress, but in like, the best ways possible, especially with their Neverland prom theme. It's short and strapless with a tulle skirt and it's perfect for her, really. "I'm going to borrow your boyfriend, Megs," Wendy announces as she stands. "Maybe a dance will lighten him up."

"I don't—"

She grabs his arm and tugs him onto the dance floor before he can protest, and Megan just smiles as they disappear into the crowd because she knows Conner. Wendy wouldn't have had a chance in the world to physically drag him against his will if he didn't reallywant to dance.

"How does that girl have so much energy in such a tiny body?" Mal asks.

"I don't know," Megan admits with a laugh, shrugging. "I'm still trying to catch my breath from when she pulled _me_ onto the dance floor!"

"She's always been like that," Karen points out. "It's what's made her the perfect cheerleader since grade school. I mean, I exercise the same amount of time she does each day and _I'm_ still exhausted just watching her." Karen shakes her head and stands from her seat. "Come on, Meg. Want to hit the chocolate fountain with me?"

"Sure," Megan says, "But what about Mal?"

"You girls go ahead," Mal reassures. "I'm going to find where Marvin's hiding. I'll catch up with you later, babe," he says, and kisses Karen's cheek before leaving.

Karen links their arms together as they weave through the tables to the long table against the far wall set up with drinks, finger-foods and a dessert bar. "_God_, I'm starving," she says as she grabs a paper plate and a stick, stabs a strawberry with a stick and twirls it in the chocolate. Megan giggles at the appreciative sound Karen makes when she's finally gotten a bite of the chocolate-covered strawberry. "Whoever invented the chocolate fountain is a genius," Karen tells her, then laughs. "I'm sorry, Megs. I must sound like I'm crazy."

"No, it's fine," Megan laughs. "I'm kind of starving myself."

Karen stabs another strawberry, twirls it through the chocolate and holds it out for her, and Megan takes a bite of it over the plate, licking the excess chocolate from her lips as she swallows. "I think this might be my favorite part about prom," Megan admits, and the both of them laugh.

"Yeah right," Karen says. "You love everything about prom. You've always been into charm of the cliché stuff. It's what makes you cute."

"Uh… thank you?"

"Just eat," she orders.

Megan laughs, grabs a plate and a stick and does exactly that.

And, okay, obviously this chocolate fountain isn't her _favorite_ part about tonight, but it's definitely a highlight. Maybe that makes her sound kind of pathetic, but she doesn't care. What she was looking forward to most about tonight was dressing up and sharing it with her friends, and if that happens to involve eating chocolate, then so be it.

And it's not like they're _just_ eating. They're talking and laughing, too, and they seem to be doing a lot more of it lately. Megan had always thought she'd had a harder time making friends with Karen than she did with Wendy, and for a while, she honestly only believed that Karen hung out with her because Karen and Wendy were obviously close before Megan came along, and because Conner had become good friends with Mal. Then Karen joined the Team and Megan brought it up when they were alone for the first time, because Karen was a little bit overwhelmed and wanted to be alone with her and Megan figured that the girl just needed a familiar face.

Karen had laughed and called her silly for even thinking that she didn't like her.

And they're just finishing the last strawberries on their plates when Conner and Mal suddenly emerge from the crowd and begin making their way towards them, laughing to themselves. Megan's willing to bet that whatever it is, it probably has to do with Marvin, somehow.

"Hey, babe," Karen says, threading her fingers with Mal as he leans down to kiss her lips, and Conner holds a hand out to Megan.

"Did you want to dance?" he asks.

Megan smiles, slipping her hand into his. "I'd love to."

... ...

They stay at the Cave and watch _The Proposal_, because it's one of her favorite romantic comedies, ever, and because it just so happened to be starting on TV when she was flipping through the channels, waiting for Kaldur to bring out their dinner. And she _did _offer to help him cook, but he just insisted that she just sit down and relax.

Honestly, she thinks that he still feels guilty, somehow, that she's not going to prom, like it's _his_ fault. That's entirely insane and she's told him as much. If she really wanted to go, she would've asked him to be her date to her prom or maybe they would've crashed Happy Harbor's because he'd know a little more people there. She's not going because she just doesn't want to. She doesn't hate prom, nor does she love it, obviously, and she felt bet for turning down a few guys that had asked her. But she's sort of had a hectic time between school and the Team since they started their second semester of senior year and she just really needs the break right now.

And she's sitting on the couch in Kaldur's lap when he asks, "Can you show me?"

She laughs a little in surprise. "What?"

"Your dress," he clarifies, moves one of the hands at her hips down her leg and rests it atop her knee. "Artemis told me that you'd gotten a dress with them."

"Oh. Yeah, but it's not a prom dress," she explains. "It's just a formal dress. They sort of made me get one with them, I think because they didn't want me to feel left out."

"Can I see it?"

She arches an eyebrow, amused. "Why?" He shrugs his shoulders. "Do you want to see _it_, or do you want to see me _in_ it?" she asks, and he just chuckles faintly. She grins. He's gotten a lot better at not being completely embarrassed by her suggestive comments, probably because they've been together for a while already and he's just used to it.

"Either is fine," he answers.

"Okay." She stands up, runs her fingers over his shaved head as she's walking passed. "I'll be back."

"Take your time," he calls after her.

And like, she doesn't really know why she wants to put it on rather than just show him, but maybe she was feeling just a little bit eager earlier, helping the other girls get ready. It's not that she's regretting not going to prom right now, but she kind of likes the excuse to look nice and everything.

Plus, she really _does_ love her dress (even though she'd tried to convince the girls not to get it for her all the way up until they were at the cash register paying for it).

So she takes her time getting ready, pulls the dress on and does her makeup a little. She doesn't bother doing anything with her hair, because it's cropped short and fine the way it is because she's only really _showing_ him how she looks, and she slips into a pair of Megan's heels. It goes with the sort of sea foam green color of her dress, and the entire time she was helping the girls get ready, Megan kept pointing this out in a last-minute attempt to change her mind. She probably won't mind if Raquel borrows them for a few minutes now.

She's just about to walk back outside when there's a knock at the door, startling her a little.

"Kaldur?" she asks. "Is that you?"

"It is me," he replies.

She laughs a little and steps closer as the door begins to slide open, about to ask if he got impatient or thought something happened to her or whatever. But the question sort of dies on her tongue when she sees that he's standing on the other side of the doorway in a _tuxedo_.

"Kaldur?" She laughs a little breathlessly, because honestly, this kind of thing exists outside of movies and television.

"Can I come in?" he asks, and she just nods, not really sure what to say. He's smiling, though, which makes her smile back despite her confusion. Then he stands in front of her and she feels something cold being slipped around her wrist—a thin, silver bracelet with an anchor charm. (It's kind of a joke between them that they're each other's anchors, except not really a joke at all, because she seriously believes that it's true.) "Raquel," he says, offering his arm, and she knows her eyes are watering just a little. "Will you go to prom with me?"

She smiles brightly, slipping her hand over the crook of his elbow as she tells him, "I thought you'd never ask."

... ...

"You look bored."

Dick looks up as Zatanna appears from behind his chair, grinning at him, and he sort of just has to pause and look at her because honestly, she looks _amazing_ tonight. She always does, but as far as dresses goes, he thinks this is his favorite of hers. He's kind of glad she kept it a surprise, as curious as he was, because he really does love it when she surprises him. And yeah, he probably could've found out what her dress looked like pretty easily if he really wanted to, but he didn't mind waiting. She's _always_ been worth the wait.

But tonight, her dress is dark blue and short and strapless, with a design of peacock feathers branching out from her hip, and it's just so exotic and fun and different while still being completely beautiful, which couldn't fit Zatanna more perfectly.

"I'm not," he says, meaning it, and places a hand at her hip. "I'm just person-watching."

"Person-watching?" she asks, amused.

"While, I'd say people watching, but I don't think I can call it that when I'm only really looking at one person," he says, and she smiles at him because she knows what he's trying to say. He really hasn't been able to take his eyes off of her all night, just like Wally hasn't been able to, either, since he first saw Artemis in her dress.

"They have another term for that, you know," she tells him, and he arches an eyebrow, pulls her down so that she's sitting in his lap. She drapes her arms around his shoulder, leans in and whispers, "_Stalker_," into his ear.

He laughs. "Then I guess you've got yourself a stalker, then, Miss Zatara."

"I'm not sure whether to be flattered or terrified," she teases.

"You should be flattered." He tightens his grip around her waist a little as she places a kiss to the underside of his jaw. "Definitely flattered," he breathes.

"Wow, Grayson," a voice interrupts, and they turn to see Bette and Barbara standing next to their chair. Wally and Artemis are sort of standing behind them, and Wally's giving Dick that entirely suggestive grin way that they give each other whenever he's with Zatanna or Wally's with Artemis. "I didn't realize a sixteen-year-old could have so much game."

"You better be careful, Zee," Barbara laughs. "He's the son of a playboy billionaire. They're a dangerous species."

"I'll keep that in mind," Zatanna says, tugging a little on his tie. "Where did your dates go? I thought you guys were dancing."

"Terry went to go get a drink. I think I tired him out," Bette says, sounding very amused and almost satisfied by this. "And I think Jason is plotting with his friends to somehow sound the fire alarm so the sprinklers go off."

Barbara rolls her eyes. "He's not a criminal."

"Sure he's not." Bette winks, links her arm with Barbara's. "Come on, let's dance again."

"I think we're going to call it a night," Zatanna admits.

"Us, too," Artemis chimes in, touching Barbara's shoulder. Bette pouts and Artemis just laughs at her. "Just because _you_ can go on for days, doesn't mean we can," she says, hugging both girls before threading her fingers with Zatanna's and pulling her up. "But tonight was definitely a lot more fun with you two."

"Of course it was," Bette declares, and then gives Zatanna a hug. "Don't be a stranger! I put my number in your phone."

Zatanna arches an eyebrow. "When was this, exactly?"

"When I stole it from your purse," Barbara informs, and they both laugh as they hug, too. "Just remember what I said about sons of playboy billionaires."

"Alright, I think this conversation is over," Dick announces, standing, and they all laugh. Then Dick slides his hand over the small of Zatanna's back, kisses her temple and making her bite her lower lip when he asks, "Can I take you home, now?"

... ...

They find Kaldur and Raquel standing on the beach at the bottom of Mount Justice, their fingers laced between them, and the two of them turn around to watch as everyone makes their way over to them after leaving their shoes and heels by the Cave entrance. It's clear out tonight, and kind of still warm out, and it's just _beautiful_, really, being here.

"You two look like you had fun," Artemis comments, winking, and Raquel just laughs.

"What do you have there?" Kaldur asks, because Megan's carrying a large shopping bag with her and smiling widely like she does when she's excited.

She reaches in the bag and pulls out something large and circular, and Wally takes it from her hands and pulls it open so that it's expanded a little more and they can see that it's a paper lantern. Wally grins. "When did you get these?"

"A while ago," Megan admits, starting to pass them around. "I've been waiting for an excuse for us to use them."

Once everyone's gotten a lantern in hand, Zatanna says something backwards that no one quite catches that makes their lanterns expand into a perfect sphere and light up with a flame inside. She catches Dick smiling at her from the corner of her eyes, giving her that same look of amazement that he only seems to get when it comes to her, and she feels a warmth flood her cheeks as she bites her lower lips. Then Megan is saying something that neither of them quite catches, and everyone is making a wish as they're releasing their lanterns. She and Dick push theirs up, too, watching them flickering brightly against the dark, starlit sky.

Then Dick tugs her, gently, by her elbow and presses their lips together, and she makes this little noise and kisses him back, remembering, somewhere in her mind, about their kiss on New Year's and thinking that it was probably her favorite decision, ever.


End file.
